Claims former Qld government put pressure on gas approvals

An industry group has dismissed claims two to Queensland's largest resources projects were approved because of pressure by the former Bligh Labor government.

The Courier Mail newspaper says a Right to Information investigation has revealed the Bligh government pressured public servants to approve the coal seam gas (CSG) projects, worth around $34 billion.

However, Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (APPEA) spokesman Rick Wilkinson says while some individuals in government may have had concerns, the environmental reviews were thorough.

"The track record of the industry is very, very good," he said.

"There's 18,000 people working under it - we've been doing it for 16 years.

"There are no environmental disasters in Queensland."

He says all of the natural gas in Queensland is now coming from coal seam gas.

"I've been involved in CSG to LNG since its inception in Queensland," he said.

"I got my daughter through high school faster than I got an environmental approval, so it hasn't in my view been a dash for gas.

"In fact it's taken a minimum of three-and-a-half-years to just write it, prepare it and have it analysed."

But anti-coal seam gas campaigner Drew Hutton says the documents obtained are damning and show the environmental impact process was flawed.

"There were no cumulative assessments in the [environmental impact statements] from both Santos and British Gas for the water that was extracted - for the salt, for vegetation and land clearing, for the greenhouse gases that they would produce and for site specific impacts," he said.